“It was just one of those nights,” said USC’s Jordan McLaughlin, who had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Cameron Hunter scored 24 points to lead the Bison (0-2), which were better in nearly every category. They held the lead for 20 minutes and 10 seconds, but their shooting went cold in the closing minutes and they had 19 turnovers in the game.

“We competed for the better part of it, which was exciting,” Bison coach David Richman said. “Now the next step is learning how to finish. We pride ourselves in being finishers and we need to do a better job of that.”

Hunter hit a three-pointer to cut USC’s lead to 70-65 but it was one of just two field goals the Bison made in the final 3:43.

“The first half I feel like we punched right away and we were aggressive right away,” Hunter said. “In the second half I felt we were a little tentative, didn’t have that aggression that we had the first half.”

Deng Geu’s consecutive dunks gave North Dakota State a 56-51 lead, its last of the game. The Bison tied it at 58-all on Rocky Kreuser’s dunk before the Trojans took over.

“It was a grind-it-out win, but we’ll take it,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “We started the game 0 for 5 from the field with five open looks. We missed layups and we missed dunks. You get deflated when you start out like that.”

The Bison pulled away to a 10-point lead in the first half, hitting four straight three-pointers by different players in a 16-4 run. The Trojans were limited to a field goal and missed 4 of 6 free throws in that span.

But Boatwright’s four-point play launched a 12-2 spurt that helped USC tie the game 33-all at halftime. He had two other baskets and McLaughlin scored his first points of the game in the run. Dylan Miller’s turnover was picked up by McLaughlin who tied the game on a fastbreak layup with 1 second remaining.

MELTON SITS AGAIN

Sophomore De’Anthony Melton was in street clothes on USC’s bench for the second straight game. The team has said it’s holding him out for precautionary reasons that involve a potential eligibility issue. The FBI investigation of assistant coaches accused of using bribes to influence star players’ choice of schools, shoe sponsors and agents referred to a USC sophomore. Melton has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

ONE AND DONE

USC’s Nick Rakocevic sprained his left ankle a minute into the game and is likely out a few days. He limped to the bench and winced in pain as a trainer examined it.

ANTHEM SINGER

National anthem singer and USC student Tiah Barnes took a knee as she finished the song.

BIG PICTURE

Picked to finish third in the Summit League, North Dakota State will test itself against another Pac-12 team when it visits No. 5 Arizona in December.

USC blew out Cal State Fullerton by 42 points in its opener and is boasting its highest ranking since the 1974-75 season. The Trojans won’t face a ranked opponent until at least Nov. 26 when they host Texas A&M.

UP NEXT

North Dakota State concludes its season-opening, three-game road trip at Missouri State on Friday.